Ok, Now I thought for sure Seth would be the first to say,- ˜just empower the consumer." But he did not . Now, I am a big fan of Seth and his insight regarding consumer respect. I've read many of his books and consider him a marketing genius, but Seth, this time your suggested "solution" is premature and incomplete.

This is normality at work - Mostly due to the majority forging on to make "things" work instead of complaining.

Case in point - The staunch anti-spammers say:

- Emarketers haven't the right to use email to reach out to customers.
- Emarketers are destroying email with spam.
- ISPs aren't doing enough to shut down spammers.

Well, the facts are:

- Most of the Internet population likes the emails they get from their desired marketing sources. (I personally like the email catalogs and sales flyers I get from "desirable" sources. It gives me a quick glimpse of items that I'd otherwise not be aware of.)

Interruptions have become unmanageable; getting worse by the day, as the cost of communications continually drops. Everyone thought the Personal Media Revolution would address this, but at some point, it's nice to step outside your box. When you do, there they wait, like hungry monkeys staring at a cupcake (I salute to the writers of "I love Raymond"). Putting an end to the constant barrage of personal interruptions is as easy as: Giving every user the ability to control their Personal Value.

Cingular's mobile phone implementation of OZ's email client is getting some good reviews 1, 2,3,4,5. One feature that is expressly noted, is the ability to review the message before download. And, it's noted as though I should appreciate this functionality? One step forward, two back on that one. I guess OZ's design is as good as it gets when it comes to controlling undesirable content in the wireless world.

Consumers, in many cases, feel helpless that their personal value (and space) is being exploited, so they have learned to ignore the inbound.

Permission Marketing introduced fabulous insight and was my first of many exposures to Seth Godin. In my opinion, the problem with interruption marketing today is that the total cost of advertising is being determined by the cost of production and cost of contact. There is no real value given to the consumer's attention. This is similar to calculations that involve the use of "free", but extremely valuable, natural resources.

From News Week: Oct. 10, 2005 issue: Perspectives:"Hey Bill, just thought I would make sure we were on for golf on Friday. Please respond to confirm."
An anonymous text message to Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, one of about 100 he received when his demo of the new Windows Mobile-powered Palm Treo revealed the number of the phone he was using. The phone is now being kept off because it won't stop buzzing.

When will they learn? It's not the content, or volume; It is simply a lack of respect. Additionally, even charging a penny per message would not solve this problem. As you can imagine just how many people around the globe would be willing to annoy Bill Gates for a penny per pop!

Spam, viruses, phishing attacks and spyware are all very different animals, however, the term "spam" has become all encompassing. Additionally, customers simply want all email threats protected via a single solution. This is to be expected as customers are continually being burdened by the cost to protect their digital space. With that said, consumers are also looking for the best value. Anti-spam applications should be selected on their ability to control spam (undesirable messages) as well as potentially damaging email threats, like viruses, spyware and phishing attacks.

While it is possible to load a variety of software on your computer (or mail server,) it is a service or stand-alone appliance that will better protect you against threats. It will instead clean your email before it is delivered to you. This will free up resources (PC and network) and ensure threats are removed before they reach your computer or mail server. Terms such as, email gateway, email firewall or email appliance are typical for the solution you should be considering.